Newsletter Xagena

Prevalence of endometriosis during abdominal or laparoscopic hysterectomy for chronic pelvic pain

A study has estimated the prevalence of surgically confirmed endometriosis in women undergoing laparoscopic or abdominal hysterectomy, including those with and without preoperative indications of chronic pelvic pain or endometriosis, and to describe characteristics and operative findings associated with surgically confirmed endometriosis in women undergoing hysterectomy for chronic pelvic pain.

A retrospective cohort study was performed with 9,622 women who underwent laparoscopic or abdominal hysterectomy for benign indications in the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative during 2013-2014 period.

Of the 9,622 hysterectomies available for analysis during the study period, 15.2% ( n=1,465 ) had endometriosis at the time of hysterectomy.

Among the 3,768 women with a preoperative indication of chronic pelvic pain, fewer than one in four had endometriosis ( 806/3768 [ 21.4% ] ).

Even among those with preoperative indication of endometriosis, many women did not actually have endometriosis at the time of hysterectomy ( 527/1232 [ 42.8% ] ).

The rate of unexpected endometriosis in women without a preoperative indication of chronic pelvic pain or endometriosis was 8.0% ( 434/5457 ).

Among women with a preoperative indication of chronic pelvic pain ( n=3786 ), multivariate analysis showed endometriosis was more common in women of younger age, white race, lower body mass index, and those who failed another treatment previously.

Among those with pelvic pain, oophorectomy was more commonly performed in women with surgically confirmed endometriosis than those without ( 47.4% compared with 33.3%, P less than 0.001 ).

In conclusion, fewer than 25% of women undergoing laparoscopic or abdominal hysterectomy for chronic pelvic pain have endometriosis at the time of surgery. ( Xagena )